/'■ 



A MANUAL 



ON 



^POULTRY. ►• 



Prepared Under the Direction of the Commissioner 
of Agriculture of Georgia. 



J. T. HENDERSON, Commissionee. 



1883. 



ATLANTA, GEOBGIA: 

Jab P. Harbison & Co., Pbintebs. 

1883. 



Digitized by the Internet Archive 
in 2011 with funding from 
The Library of Congress 



http://www.archive.org/details/manualonpoultryOOgeor 



A MANUAL 



ON 



^POULTRY. ►• 



Prepared Under the Direction of the Commissioner 
of Agriculture of Georgia. 



J. T. HENDERSON, Commissioner. 



1883. 



ATLANTA, GEORGIA: 

Tajb P. Harbison «fc Co., Pbintebs. 

1683. 



■} 



\ 



K4> 






LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



It is with pleasure that acknowledgement is here made to Messrs. J. T. 
Scott & Bro., Breeders of Fancy Poultry, Italian Bees and Queens, Craw- 
fish Springs, Walker county, Ga., for the following electrotypes illustrating 
the breeds and varieties of Poultry : 

AMEKICAN DOMINIQUES, 

BLACK COCHIN, 

BLACK BREASTED RED GAME, 

BROWN LEGHORN, 

BRONZE GOBBLER, 

BUFF COCHIN, 

DARK BRAHMA, 

HOUDANS, 

JAPANESE BANTAMS, 

LA FLECHE, 

LIGHT BRAHMAS, 

PARTRIDGE COCHINS, 

PEKIN DUCKS, 

PLYMOUTH ROCKS, 

RED PILE GAME, 

ROUEN DUCKS, 

SILVER SPANGLED HAMBURG8, 

SILVER PENCILED HAMBURGS, 

TOULOUSE GEESE, 

WHITE COCHINS, 

WHITE LEGHORNS, 

WHITE CRESTED BLACK POLISH, 

WHITE CRESTED WHITE POLISH, 

WHITE FACED BLACK SPANISH. , 



INTRODUCTORY. 



While the Act establishing this Department and defining the duties of 
the Commissioner does not especially mention Poultry as one of the sub- 
jects to which his attention should be directed, its importance as one of 
the productive industries so closely connected with Agriculture, in the 
opinion of the Commissioner justifies the attention which he is about to 
devote to it in this little work. Indeed, so much depends upon the intel- 
ligence and care bestowed upon the small industries of the farm that he 
would feel that be was not fully discharging his duties to the people of the 
State, did he not supply the information at his command on a subject so 
closely connected with their health, comfort and profit. 

The following pages will be devoted to practical information suited to 
the use and application of the wives of farmers — 3uch information as it is 
hoped will aid the housewives of Georgia in not only substituting, to a large 
extent, eggs and poultry for pork on their tables, but stimulate them to 
the production of a surplus of these wholesome articles of diet to be sold 
to the less fortunate dwellers in towns and cities. 

The work is not intended for the fancier, nor for those who pursue the 
business on a large scale, but for the farmer's wife. There will be much 
in the work which to the fancier will seem crude and unnecessary ; but in 
order to instruct those without experience or knowledge of the business, it 
is necessary to present the appearance (to the well informed) of presuming 
very far upon the ignorance of the reader. 

One of the secrets of the success of French agriculture is the attention 
' bestowed upon the small industries of the farm, and one of the principal 
obstacles to successful agriculture in the Southern States is the neglect of 
these industries. The dairy, garden, poultry yard, apiary, and fish ponds, 
should not only contribute largely to the food supply of the family, but 
should, by the sale of surplus products, materially supplement the principal 
sources of income of the farm. 

The hope that the information conveyed in this little work may induce 
the bestowal of more and better attention upon the important industry of 
which it treats, and thus increase the health, pleasure, profit and comfort 
of the families of Georgia, induces its publication. 



Manual on P 



ANUAL ON JTOULTRY. 



According to Darwin, who has given the subject a very thorough 
and systematic investigation, our domestic gallinaceous fowls have 
all descended from one common source, viz : the wild Gallus Ban- 
hiva of south-eastern Asia. 

The black breasted red game cock resembles very closely the wild 
Gallus Bankiva cock of India. 

Mr. Darwin experimented with various crosses of domestic breeds 
and observed that there was invariably a tendency to a reversion to 
the original red color of the wild fowl. 

All breeders of improved stock, of whatever kind, are familiar 
with the fact that a constant tendency to reversion to the original 
type exists, and must be guarded against by careful, judicious selec- 
tion, annually repeated. 

Peculiarities of form and color have been seized upon as starting 
points from which to establish new breeds, by in-breeding and sub- 
sequent crossing with the original. Alter a few distinct varieties 
were established the multiplication of breeds became an easy matter. 
Breeds of cattle, horses, sheep and swine have been multiplied in 
the same manner. 

Sub-varieties are produced by selection of breeding stock of a 
particular type or color, and by breeding the offspring back to the 
sire, until his type is so fixed in the offspring that it becomes capable 
of uniformly reproducing its kind when bred inter se. Breeds have 
thus been multiplied both by following up accidental peculiarities, 
and by systematic mating of birds of different established breeds. 



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE — GEORGIA. 



CLASSIFICATION AND DESCRIPTION OF BREEDS. 




BLACK-BREASTED RED GAME. 



GAMES. 

This seems to be the typical breed, 
most closely resembling the wild 
parent, G alius Bankvoa. 

The game is notoriously the most 
hardy breed of chickens in the whole 
catalogue ; and independently of their 
value as fighters in the cock-pit, with 
which this work has nothing to do, 
they are well worthy of cultivation, 
purely for their economic qualities. 

The hens are good layers, superior 
sitters and unsurpassed mothers. A 
serious objection, however, to them 
as mothers is that they are too much disposed to fight the young 
chicks of other broods. This propensity brings with it, however, a 
compensating quality, viz : that of defending with great spirit their 
own brood against all intruders. 

The chicks are bright and hardy, but mature slowly. The flesh 
of the game is considered of superior quality, though less in quan- 
tity than in birds of the same age in most other commonly culti- 
vated breeds. 

There are many varieties of the game differing but little in essen- 
tial qualities, the distinctions being based mainly upon the color of 
the plumage. As plumage is a matter of small importance, so far 
as the objects of this work are concerned, further than to aid the 
reader in recognizing pure bred birds, the varieties of the game will 
not be described, but only a description covering the distinctive 
characteristics of the game as a breed, since this will enable one to 
lecognize a game wherever seen and of whatever color. 



GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF GAMES. 

The head is long, thin and tapering, with beak more curved than 
that of any other breed. Color varies in the different varieties. 

Comb thin and straight, single and low in front. A game cock 
with a full comb is rarely seen. They are usually dubbed in both 
comb and wattles. 



MANUAL ON POULTRY. 




RED PILE GAME. 



Ear Lobes red and smooth. 

JVeck long, well-arched and tapering. Hackles short. 

Body firm, broad across the shoulders, and tapering towards the 
tail. 

Tail full and slightly drooping. 

Legs stout, rather long, and set well apart. 

The principal varieties of the 
game breed are the Black, Black- 
breasted Red, Blue, Brown-red, 
Yellow Duck-wing, Silver Duck- 
wing, Grey, Ginger-red, White- 
Pile, Red-Pile, Derby, White, and 
Spangled. 

The opinions as to which of 
this list is the most desirable va- 
riety are quite conflicting, though 
the majority seem to give the 
preference to the Black-breasted 
Red and the Derby. 

There are other varieties, but the list embraces those principally 
grown in America. 

The Game Hen in form resembles the cock, her neck seeming 
rather out of proportion to her body. The head is neat and thin, 
with clean face and small, erect comb ; ear lobes and wattles small. 
In color the plumage approximates that of the cock, making due 
allowance for sex. The feathers should lie close to the body and 
the tail feathers be held closely together, and not collectively fan- 
shaped. 

The cockerels intended for stock birds may be dubbed when 
four months old, but must not be turned with each other while the 
combs are freshly cut. Birds true to the desired type should be 
selected for stock purposes in order to perpetuate uniformity of 
form and color. 

The chicks are somewhat delicate when first hatched, and hence, 
unless provision has been made for protecting them for some weeks 
from cold wind, rains and dew, they should not hatch before spring 
is well advanced. The hens with broods should not be cooped so 
near each other that the chicks of one brood will invade the coop 



s 



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE — GEORGIA. 




of the other, lest the hens, which are quite savage towards other 
than their own chicks, destroy them. 

THE ASIATICS — COCHINS AND BRAHMAS. 

The following description 
of the distinctive character- 
istics of the Cochins will an- 
swer for all of the varieties 
so far as the substantial feat- 
ures of the breed are con- 
cerned. (^ 

The principal difference (\i 
between the varieties of the ^ 
breed is found in the color of {^ 
the plumage or in non-essen- 
tial features. "*** mpmmmm^nt**-' «a^«m% 

PARTRIDGE COCHINS. 

The following extract from Hewitt's description of the Buff 

Cochin is found in The 
Poultry Book, by W. B. 
Tegetmeier : 

"In size and weight the 
larger the better, if with- 
out coarseness. Sometimes 
the cocks attain the weight 
of thirteen and a half 
pounds ; but from eleven 
to twelve pounds are good 
average birds. The hens 
weigh from eight to ten 
pounds ; if they continue 
healthy and are well fed, 
they generally increase in 
weight until their third 
year. 

BUFF COCHINS. 

"The carriage and form of the cock should* be fine, noble, and 
very majestic; the breast very broad, forming a^straight line from 
the crop to the thighs ; the back short and wide ; the tail only very 




MANUAL ON POULTRY. 



slightly raised compared with that of other fowls ; the wings ex- 
ceedingly short, and held tightly to the sides ; the legs, thighs and 
saddle unusually large in proportion to the rest of the body ; the 
head small, and carried well up. 

" The carriage of the hen similar to that of the cock in general 
character, but the head is carried much lower, and the neatness 
and fine expression of the face is extremely pleasing in really high- 
bred specimens. 

" The plumage in the cock is very soft, owl-like, and exceedingly 
downy, giving a peculiar softness to the general appearance. 

" Cochins possess a great bulk of feathers, each one being wider 
across than in other fowls. In the hen the peculiar softness of the 
plumage is more marked even than in the cock, especially on the 
thighs and saddle. 

"The neck-hackle of the cock is extremely lull, * - * spread- 
ing over the base of the wings. 

"The thighs of the cock are stronger than those- of any other 
variety; exceedingly heavy in the feathering; all the feathers sit 
very loosely, and are peculiarly downy, forming, in part, what is 
commonly called the 'fluff.' The shafts of these feathers should 
be weak and flexible, contrasting with the firm, stiff feathers pro. 
ducing the ' falcon-hock,' which is to be regarded as a defect. In 
the hen the fluffiness is far more conspicuous than in the cocks." 

The Cochins are good win- 
ter layers, good sitters and 
fair mothers. From long 
disuse of their wings and 
their heavy weight they can 
fly but little, and hence can be 
easily restrained within the 
desired bounds without ex- 
pensive fencing. Their roosts 
should not be more than two 
feet from the floor of the 
house, so that they may easily 
leach them, and to prevent 
h eir feet and breast 
bones in flying down. If they are required to perch upon high 





BLACK COCHINS. 



10 



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE — GEORGIA. 



roosts they are liable to contract club-foot, a troulit/ lesembling 
stone-bruise on the human foot, which generally destroys the use- 
fulness of the birds. They bear confinement better than the 
smaller breeds, and hence are better suited to small lots, in which 
they must be confined to very contracted quarters. 

The chicks of the Cochins are remarkably hardy, grow rapidly, 
and acquire sufficient size to be used by tb& time they are feathered 
over. The principal objection to the Cochins as a table fowl is the 
smallness of the development of the breast in proportion to that 
of less desirable parts. They are conspicuous for their large thighs 
and broad and meaty backs. 

The cross of the Cochin cock on the common dunghill hen pro- 
duces a grade which is hardy and thrifty when young, matures 
rapidly, and as a table fowl gives general satisfaction. 

The Cochin hens, as well as 
their half-breeds, make excel- 
lent sitters and mothers for the 
yards in which the non-sit- 
ting breeds, such as Leghorn, 
Spanish, etc., are principally 
employed. 

The principal varieties of 
Cochins are : Buff, Partridge, 
Pea-comb Partridge, White, 
Black and Cinnamon ; all of 
which correspond closely in es- 
sential characteristics, the 
chief difference resting in the 
color of the plumage. 




WHITE COCHIN. 



THE BRAHMA FOWLS • 

Eesemble the Cochins very closely in general characteristics. In- 
deed, it is claimed by some that the Brahmas were derived from the 
Cochins. Be this as it may, the two are very closely allied, with no 
greater difference in essential characteristics than exist between sub- 
varieties in some of the standard breeds. 

The light Brahma is one of the most popular breeds, having large 
size and hardiness, both in the young and adult birds. The flesh is 
well distributed over the most valuable and desirable parts. In 



MANUAL ON POULTKY. 



11 



color they are mainly white, but with black in the main feathers of 
the tail and the flight feathers of the wing, and the hackle feathers 
ha^e a decided black stripe down the centre of each. 




LIGHT BEAHMAS. 



The hens are good layers, reliable sitters, and careful mothers. 
Like the Cochins, they do well in confinement within limited 
bounds, where they are restrained without difficulty, since they fly 
but little. 

The Dark Brahma is not quite 
so heavy as the light, the standard 
weight of cock and hen being 
each one pound less than in the 
Light Brahma. The prevailing 
color of the Dark Brahma cock 
is black, with silvery white hack- 
les, wing crest and saddle 
feathers. 

The hen corresponds very 
closely in color with the male, 
making allowance for the charac- 
teristic differences between the 
sexes. Brahmas are usually^'bred 




DARK BRAHMAS. 



12 



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE GEORGIA. 



with what are called pea-combs, which have the appearance of three 
combs united, that in the centre a little taller than the other two. 
Each comb is separately serrated. 



MALAYS. 



This breed is grown to some extent pure, in England, on account 
of its table qualities, and has been used to cross the Game. Owing 
to their ill-nature, the poor laying qualities of the hens, and the ten- 
derness of the chicks, they have nut been grown to any extent in 
this country. 

LEGHORNS— BROWN AND WHITE. 



^josfiffiSEgEg^ 




BROWN LEG-HORNS. 

Tin's breed is deservedly one of the most popular bred in the 
United States, on account of their superior laying qualities, neat 
and handsome appearance, and hardiness. They are "high-flyers," 
active, good foragers; and to give best results should have ample 
range. If they have their liberty they will range over five to ten 
acres of land. 

As summer layers, the Ljghorns are unsurpassed, and when well 
fed and allowed their liberty, they furnish more or less eggs 
throughout the year. They are non-sitters, and hence a few com- 



MANUAL ON POULTRY. 13 

e 

mon hens or Brabraas should be kept for the purpose of hatching 
and rearing the chicks. The Brahraas are reliable sitters and good 
mothers, besides, they are good winter layers, thus supplementing 
the supply of eggs at the season when the Leghorns lay least. Leg- 
horn pullets, of the early spring-hatching, commence to lay early in 
the fall and continue, under good treatment, through the winter. 

Again, the cross of the Leghorn upon the Brahma produces a 
hardy, thrifty, early-maturing bird, with superior table qualities. 

The Brahma hens may be required to hatch some of their own 
eggs in the latter part of winter for a supply of early spring chick- 
ens. 

The Leghorns should not be hatched very early in the spring, ex- 
cept enough to supply pullets for fall layers, so that a supply of 
early spring chickens may thus be grown before commencing to 
hatch the Leghorns for stock fowls. 

The Leghorns mature so rapidly that they can be hatched out later 
in the season than the larger breeds. The young Leghorns make 
very choice broilers — equal in quality to those of any other breed 
at the same age, though smaller than some of them. The pullets 
mature very rapidly, and often commence to lay at from, four to 
five months if well fed or allowed their freedom on a good range. 

If kept for several generations in small enclosures the Leghorn 
will decline in size, while, if furnished a large range on which they 
find an abundance of food, a decided increase in size will result in a 
few generations. 

A dozen Leghorn hens will furnish an abundant supply of eggs 

for an ordinary family for about 
nine months in the year, and, if 
well treated, will furnish some 
during the remaining three 
months. 

As egg producers they have 
no superior. 

Mr. Felch mentions a state- 
ment made by Mr. Whitman in 
1873. He says: "With fifty- 
one Leghorns, which laid two 
hundred and seven eggs each, 




WHITE LEGHORNS. 



14: DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE GEORGIA. 

which he sold for thirty-one cents per dozen, the cost of keeping 
the fowls being $1.13 each, he shows a profit of $4.04 per head." 

While this is perhaps an extreme case, it serves to show what 
may be accomplished by the exercise of extraordinary care and 
skill in rearing and managing poultry. 

There are only three varieties of the Leghorn grown, viz : The 
Brown, the White and the Dominique. Each has its advocates, 
but the Brown seems to be the favorite with a large majority of 
the breeders. 

DESCRIPTION OF BROWN LEGHORNS. 

The cock should be black-red in color. The breast, wings and 
tail all black, hackles a golden bay, back dark red, legs bright yel- 
low, comb bright red, large and upright, deeply serrated with from 
four to six points, face red and smooth, wattles large and pendent, 
ear-lobes white or creamy white, but in no event red or tinged with 
red. 

The carriage of the cock should be bold, manly and full of gallan- 
try towards the other sex. 

The hens should be medium in size, the body varying from dark 
brown on the back to a lighter shade underneath ; the wings and 
tail feathers a dull black ; comb, paler red than that of the cock, 
thin, single, deeply serrated, free fro* side sprigs, and droopiug 
gracefully to one side ; face and wattles smooth and red ; ear-lobes 
white ; legs yellow. 

The stems of the feathers of the body are penciled in the center 
with a lighter color than that of the feathers. 

The above description will answer for the white variety in every 
respect except in color. 

There are Biack Leghorns and Dominique Leghorns, but they 
have not been so generally grown as the brown and the white. 
They differ but little from the last two except in the color of their 
plumage. 

They are all famous layers and^are non-sitters. 



MANUAL ON POULTRY. 



15 




SPANISH BREEDS. 

Of these the white-faced Black Spanish 
is by far the most important, since it is 
the most showy and useful. These birds 
are of medium size, the cocks weighing 
seven and the hens six pounds each. The 
cock should possess style in his carriage. 
The plumage should be a deep black 
with glassy reflections in the light. The 
comb above medium, single, deeply ser- 
rated with not more than six points. 
The face and ear-lobes white through- 
out. 

The legs are blue or of a dark lead- 
color. The legs are long, but the bodies white-faced black 
of both sexes are plump and larger than they appear. The color 
of the face is considered important in this breed as the most dis- 
tinctive indication of purity of blood. 

The chicks are very tender when young, though the adult birds 
are quite hardy. The hens are good layers of large white eggs, 
which are claimed by their advocates to be larger than those of any 
other breed. They rank, perhaps, next to the Leghorns in egg-pro- 
duction. 

Of the other varieties of Spanish fowls, the Minorca resembles 
the white-faced Black in many respects, but is decidedly larger. 
These are excellent layers, and the chicks are quite hardy. The 
white differs from the Minorca very little, except in the color of 
the plumage. 

The Andalusians are slaty blue in color of plumage, and resem- 
ble the Minorcas in many respects, but are more hardy. 

There is, however, no need of the Spanish breeds so long as we 
have the Leghorns, which have, to a large extent, superseded the 
Spanish, and probably will do 60 completely when they are fully 
appreciated. 

DORKINGS. 

This is a valuable breed, which some claim originated in Eng- 
and, while others say they were cultivated by the Romans and 
described by Plato and Columella. 



16 



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE — GEORGIA. 



The Dorking is of large size and of superior table quality, though 
the chicks are rather delicate when young. A peculiarity of the 
breed is that they have a fifth toe in the rear. The varieties are 
the white, silver-gray, and gray or colored. This breed is very 
popular in England, but has not been appreciated in America. 

HAMBURGS. 

This is a beautiful breed, exceedingly 

showy in bearing and plumage. They are 

very fine layers, but produce small eggs. 

Their great laying qualities procured for 

them the name of "Dutch every-day lay- 
ers." They are now, however, surpassed 

by some other breeds. 

They have rose combs and opaque 

white ear-lobe^. Their plumage is very 

distinctly marked. In size they are rather 

below medium. 

The varieties are Golden Spangled, Golden Penciled, Silver 

Spangled, Silver Penciled, White and Black. 

Their general characterist- 
ics vary but little, the princi- 
pal difference being in the 
plumage. They have never 
been popular in this country, 
except with a few, who fancy 
their stylish carriage and 
beautiful plumage. They have 
good qualities, but are sur- 
passed by other breeds. 




SILVER SPANGLED HAMBURGS. 




SILVER PENCILED HAMBURGS. 



THE .POLISH BREED3. 

These are breeds of great beauty, with valuable qualities of a 
more useful character ; but the characteristic feature of the breed, 
and that which is most conspicuous in its beauty, the crest, is a 
source of disease. 

The Poland fowls all have a protuberant growth of bone upon 



MANUAL ON POULTRY. 



17 



their heads, from which a luxuriant crest of feathers grows, causing 
a peculiar and rather pleasing appearance, but really impairing the 
usefulness of the fowls, by rendering them more subject to disease 
and more liable to be taken by hawks. 

The Polish fowls are good layers and possess fair table qualities. 
They are in size about medium ; in beauty they are unsurpassed, 




R'HITE-CEESTED BLACK POLISH. 

but it is a beauty which will attract the amateur fancier, rather than 
the practical breeder, who looks to profit as well as pleasure in the 
conduct of his poultry yard. 

While the Polands are prolific layers under favorable circum- 
stances, and possess good table qualities, they require greater pro- 
tection from inclement weather than any other breed. The heavy 
crest of feathers upon their heads renders them peculiarly subject 
to cold and damp, since these feathers become wet if they are ex- 
posed to showers and thus increase the tendency to cold, and other 
2 



13 



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE GEORGIA. 



affections of the head. Three varieties of this breed have a well 
defined beard. 

The varieties, as now known, which are classed under the general 
name of Polish, are White-crested Black, Golden, Silver, White, 




Bearded Golden, Bearded Silver, and Bearded White ; all beautiful 
birds and very superiorjlayers, but too delicate tothrive under ordi- 
nary treatment. 



MANUAL ON POULTRY. 



19 



THE FRENCH BREEDS. 

This class embraces the Breda or Gueldres fowl, the Houdans, 
the La Bresse, the La Fleche and Crevecceurs. The Houdans, the 
JLa Fleche and Crevecmirs are all breeds of decided merit. Some 




who have bred the La Fleche in Georgia pronounce them superior 
as a combination fowl, for the production of both eggs and poultry 
for the table, even to the Plymouth Rocks. 

They are large, hardy except when young, showy, prolific layers of 

large eggs, grow rapidly, and make superior table fowls. They have 

crested heads and combs divided into two projections resembling 

horns. 

The ear lobes are white in the La Fleche and red in the Crevecoeur. 

The plumage of both black, with 
a metalic lustre ; feet and legs black 
or slate-colored. 

Speaking of the La Fleche, Mr. I. 
K. Felch, author of the "Breeding 
and Management of Poultry or Thor- 
ough-breds for Practical Use," eays : 
" A good healthy hen of this breed, 
we believe, will lay more eggs from 
March to October than any other 
breed, not excepting the Leghorn." 
The La Bresse is not bred, so far as 
known, in this country,*nor have they 
ever been ^extensively bred any- 
where except locally where they originated. 




LA FLECHE. 



20 



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE — GEORGIA. 



The Houdans are large and hardy, and quite popular with those 
who have tried them. 

Mr. Wright, in his " Practical Poultry Keeper," remarks in regard 
to the Houdans : " "We have in this breed the size, form and quality 







HPlfl 



of the Dorking, with earlier maturity. The hen is a most prolific 
layer of good-sized eggs, which will almost invariably be found fer- 
tile — a point the Dorkin is very deficient in, as all prize breeders 
know to their cost. The chickens feather very rapidly and early > 
but are nevertheless exceedingly hardy, perhaps more so than any, 
except Cochins or Brahmas, and are therefore easily 'reared with 



MANUAL ON POULTRY. 



21 



little loss. They are emphatically the fowl for the farmer, and will 
yield an ample profit on good feeding, both in eggs and flesh." 
This is high encomium from good authority. 




The Breda has not yet been introduced into this country so far 
as is known. 

This is a valuable breed, hardy and prolific, and of medium size. 

Id color they are a slaty blue, having each feather penciled across 
with bars of darker blue. 



22 DEPARTMENT OE AGRICULTURE — GEORGIA. 

The comb is red in color, and in form what is known as a rose- 
comb, flat on top and covered above with spikelets, and terminating- 
in a longer spike at the rear ; ear-lobes and wattles red ; legs yellow, 
and in size a little above medium. As a combination fowl for the 
farm they have few superior?. 

There is no breed more popular as a combination fowl than the 
Plymouth Rocks. They are above medium in size, the cocks 
weighing ten pounds, and the hens eight, some even exceeding these 
figures. The hens are good layers, of medium sized, reddish-yellow 
eggs, which 'resemble, in size and color, those of the Cochin. They 
are reasonably good sitters and excellent mothers. The chicks are 
hardy, grow rapidly, and produce a superior table fowl. 

There is an unfortunate disposition on the part of some breeders- 
to increase the size of these birds, to their detriment as a breed. 
They will prove more profitable and give more general satisfaction 
if bred to the standard size of ten pounds for cocks, and eight for 
hens. 

The breed has originated in America, and is a triumph of the 
skill of its originators. Mr. I. K. Felch, in his "Amateurs' Manual,'' 
speaks of their origin as follows : "This breed, in its different fami- 
lies, is cross-bred in foundation blood, with top-crosses of the Dom- 
inique to secure the color. To notice some of the modes -which 
have produced these beautiful birds, we cite : 

"1. Black Spanish on White Cochin — top-crossed with Domi- 
niques. • . 

"2. Black Spanish on Gray Dorkings — top-crossed with Domi- 
nique. 

"3. Dominique on Buff Cochin hens, reaching the result, through 
the strong breeding-color quality of the Dominique, by years of 
breeding. 

"4. White Birmingham on Black Java — top-crossed with Domi- 
nique. 

"5. White Birmingham on the Black Java, and the progeny bred 
together, the progeny coming white and black, and Dominique. 
These Dominique-colored birds, bred with the males produced by 
mating No. 4, produced the best and surest breeders for color of 
plumage and legs, and were known by many as the Essex strain, be- 
ing the same in foundation blood as seen in the so-called Mark Pit- 
man birds, of ] 872-'3." 



MANUAL ON POULTRY. 23 

It will be seen that in four of the five instances, black birds were 
crossed upon white, or light-colored ones, with similar results, after 
top-crossing with the Dominique. 

The Plymouth Hock cock is a showy bird ; beak and legs yellow, 
plumage bluish-gray, each feather having a penciling of darker 
color across it, comb, ear-lobes, face and wattles, all red, comb small, 
single and erect. Red or white feathers are not admissible in either 
cock or hen. 

The hen is marked like the cock, except that the plumage is 
darker in color. 

This is, at present, the most popular combination breed for eggs 
and table use. 

The cross of the Plymouth Rock cock on the common hen, pro- 
duces a marked improvement upon the latter. The chicks are 
hardy and mature early. It is far more profitable, however, to 
breed the Plymouth Rocks pure, since after stock to start with are 
procured, they cost no more than the grades or common fowls, 
while the sale of eggs and stock birds is very profitable, at the prices 
which now prevail. 

BARN YARD FOWLS. 

The great bulk of the fowls cultivated in Georgia belong to no 
particular breed, though traces of improved breeds may be seen in 
many of them, as the effect of crosses of some of the thorough- 
breds. 

Indeed, grades of superior quality are often found among the 
poultry sent to our markets. 

Crosses of the cocks of the Asiatics, or those of other large breeds, 
upon the common dung-hill hens produce superior table fowls. The 
chicks are hardy and mature rapidly. 

The continued use of the thoroughbred cocks will build up a 
yard of finefowls,but if the grade cocks are used, rapid deterioration 
takes place, the tendency being, in accordance with natural laws, 
to revert to the primitive inferior type. The present thoroughbred 
types of poultry are triumphs of the skill of breeders, just as are 
the Short-horn cattle, and the Berkshire pigs of the present day, and 
constant, careful selection is necessary to sustain the breeds in their 
purity, and to counteract the natural tendency to revert to the 
original type. 



24 



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE — GEORGIA. 



BANTAMS. 

These diminutive birds afford entertainment to the fancier, es- 
pecially if young. They make very interesting pete, and are good 
layers, sitters and mothers. While no one would select them solely 
on the ground of the profit to be derived from them except by the 
sale of birds to fanciers, yet on small lots they may be profitably 
grown and kept healthy where larger birds would not thrive. They 
are good e^ producers and make very nice broilers. 




JAPANESE BANTAMS. 

When allowed a wide range on which they procure a variety of 
food, the broilers are almost as nice and but little larger than par- 
tridges. 

There is a number of varieties of this breed, all of which are very 
pretty — some are exceedingly handsome. 

The varieties differ but little in economic value, while they serve 
the purpose for which they are intended, viz : gratifying the taste 
of different fanciers* 



MANUAL ON POULTRY. 25 



BEST BREEDS FOR GEORGIA. 

This is a very important question to those who propose devoting 
much attention to breeding poultry, either for market or for an 
abundant family supply of eggs and broilers for the private table, 
and one which has been quite definitely settled by the most pro- 
gressive and best informed breeders. 

The preponderance of evidence reported by correspondents is in 
favor of the Plymouth Rock as a combination fowl for the farm 
where only one breed is to be kept. The next in favor for general 
purposes is the Light Brahma. 

The verdict is almost unanimous in favor of the Leghorn for 
egg production, the preference being generally given to the brown 
variety. 

One of the most experienced breeders in the State, (Mr. Edgar 
Ross, of Bibb county.) after experimenting with the following 
varieties, viz.: Light Brahma, Dark Brahma, Buff, Partridge, White 
and Black Cochins, Plymouth Rocks, Houdan, Crevecceur, LaFleche, 
Black Spanish, White and Brown Leghorn, Black, Silver-laced, Silver- 
spangled and Golden-spangled Hamburgs, Black-breasted Red, 
Derby and Brown-red Ganie,and Game, Black and Sebright Bantams, 
in answer to the following question : " Which variety has given the 
most satisfactory results as a combination fowl for eggs and table 
use?" says "Brown Leghorn, because they are excellent egg pro- 
ducers summer and winter, and the chicks mature rapidly, being 
ready for the table at ten weeks old — flesh of excellent quality." 

In answer to the question, " Which has given the most satisfactory 
results as egg producers ? " he says, " Leghorns. The White Leg- 
horns are as good layers as the Brown, but I prefer the latter on 
account of their color. They lay at five months of age," As a 
table fowl he prefers the Light Brahma. 

In regard to crosses, he says : " I have made every conceivable 
cross with twenty odd varieties of thorough breds, besides crossing 
them on common stock." He reports as giving the most satisfac- 
tory results Leghorn on Light Brahma. 

In reply to the inquiry as to the respect in which the superiority 
of the cross consists, Mr. Ross says : " Brahmas are excellent 
mothers and good egg producers. Leghorns surpass all other 



20 



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE GEORGIA. 



varieties as layers, but are non-sitters. The cross possesses both 
qualities to perfection — loses the clumsiness of the Brahmas and 
inherits the activity o.f the Leghorn." 

There is no better authority on chickens in Georgia than Mr. 
Ross. He lets the small breeds roost in trees, and has had no dis- 
ease since adopting this plan. 



JlJIpiSIIji. "i 







AMERICAN SEBRIGHT. 



Mr. F. N. Wilder, of Munroe county, has bred the Light Brahma, 
Dark Brahma, Brown Leghorn and Plymouth Rocks, and prefers 
decidedly the Light Brahma as a combination fowl. He says the 
Brown Leghorns lay the largest number of egg$, but the Light 
Brahmas more in weight. He thinks the Light Brahma unsurpassed 
as a table fowl. He says the cross of the brown Leghorn on the 
Light Brahma makes a superior egg producer and table fowl, but 
not reliable as sitters. His opinion in regard to the comparative 
weight of eggs produced by the Brown Leghorns and Light Brah- 
mas does not correspond with the experience of others. The half- 



MANUAL ON POULTRY. 



27 



bred Leghorns have generally in other hands proved reliable sitters 
and good mothers. 

Mr. Wilder says: "The Light Brahmas with me are very hardy,, 
good layers, sitters and mothers, and the eggs large and very rich. 
When well fed they mature early for the table. They are good 
winter layers, and often attain to a very large size." He says, " I 
have had no disease. I feed regularly, and always have fresh water 
accessible to them in clean earthen vessels, putting in a few drops 
of carbolic acid twice a week. I keep their quarters clean and free 
from vei min ; provide them with good dust baths, into which a 
little sulphur is occasionally sprinkled. Haul occasionally a load 
of cinders from the blacksmith's shop into their yards." 

Messrs. J. T. Scott & Bro., Crawfish Springs, in Walker county, 
North Georgia, derive satisfactory results from some breeds not 
approved by breeders farther south. ■ They have bred the Dark 
Brahma, Light Brahma, Partridge Cochin, Buff Cochin, White 
Cochin, Brown Leghorn, White Leghorn, Plymouth Rocks, Black 
Hamburg?, Golden-spangled Hamburg?, Houdans, etc. 

The American Sebright is a new breed which promises well, but 
has not been sufficiently tested to justify more than a passing notice 
here. 



28 DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE — GEORGIA. 



GENERAL MANAGEMENT OF THE FLOCK. 

The variety to be grown having been decided upon, the breeder 
should fully determine upon a definite system of management, and 
provide for housing, feeding, and otherwise caring for the birds in 
such manner as will insure success and profit. 

The variety to be grown should depend upon the surroundings 
of the breeder, as regards the extent of the range available. As a 
general rule all of the smaller birds require a liberal range for 
maximum production. The larger breeds, such as Cochins, Brah- 
mas, etc., thrive better with reasonable liberty, but suffer less from 
close confinement than the smaller varieties, such as the Leghorns, 
Games, etc. If it is necessary to confine the fowls to a contracted 
area the breeder must, as far as practicable, supply by artificial, 
means the conditions of this 'natural range. 

Birds that have the liberty of a farm, supply themselves with 
three classes of food, and gravel, by means of which their food is 
prepared for digestion. They find on the natural range seeds of 
various kinds, a variety of green vegetable matter, and insects, the 
three together supplying for them bread, vegetables and meat. If 
the birds are deprived of making their own selection of these classes 
of food in a natural manner, by reason of confinement within lim- 
ited inclosures, they must be supplied by artificial means or the 
fowls will suffer from the privation, and be unprofitable to their 
owners. Generally there will be no* practical limit to the range 
available for fowls on the farm, and hence it will be assumed that' 
poultry have free access to grass or small grain throughout the year, 
and that, except during the winter, they will be able to secure a 
reasonable supply of meat in the form of insects. During the 
winter, scraps of meat from the table will supplement the short 
supply of insects. 

If there is not an abundant supply of perennial grass to which 
the fowls have daily access, small grain of some kind should be 
sown to supply pasturage for them during the fall, winter and early 
spring. 



MANUAL ON POULTRY. 29 1 



HOUSES AND SHEDS. 

Breeders of poultry in Georgia should not be induced to follow - 
the practice of those in more northern climates in constructing 
houses for the accommodation of their, flocks. Here, where the 
mercury never reaches zero, and seldom falls below 20 degrees,, 
very close houses are neither necessary nor desirable. On the con. 
trary, close houses, in our warm climate, are often fruitful causes 
of disease and death among poultry that are required to occupy 
them. Let any one who is skeptical on this subject enter a close 
house in which a large number of poultry are roosting on a warm 
night and observe the foul air which the poor birds are compelled 
to breathe, and the correctness of the above statement will at once 
•be recognized. Close barns, built after the pattern of those of the 
Northern States, have been repeatedly tried in Georgia, and as often 
abandoned as nnsuited to our climate. Close houses are no better 
suited to poultry than to cattle in warm climates. They may be 
used during the winter months to advantage if well ventilated, but 
the fowls should be excluded from them from May 1st to October 
1st, and required to roost either in trees or open sheds. Thorough 
ventilation is absolutely necessary, even in winter, to prevent dis- 
ease, This should be provided for by a " lantern" rising above the 
centre of the roost, and provided on the side3 with slats arranged 
after the manner of t Venetian blinds, or by having the south side of 
the house, from within three or four feet of the floor to the top r 
closed in with one by three slats, leaving a space of one inch be- 
tween them. The roof should be sufficiently tight to perfectly pro- 
tect the interior of the house from rain, and the north, west and 
east sides so close as to exclude cold winds. Fowls will suffer more 
during cold spells if confined in a house in which they are exposed 
to draughts of cold air than if roosting on trees where the whole 
body is exposed alike to the cold. This is illustrated by the inju- 
rious effects of a draught of cold air upon the person of a human 
being while sleeping. The roosts need not be more than thirty 
inches from the floor of the house, and eighteen inches from the 
wall, especially if the large breeds are kept. At eighteen inches 
from the floor place a shelf two feet wide, extending immediately 
under the roost. Dry earth, coal ashes or cotton seed should be 



30 DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE — GEORGIA. 

sprinkled over this shelf to catch the droppings, and to facilitate 
their collection, at intervals of two or three days. 

The nests may be placed against the wall of the house, under this 
shelf, and thus be entirely protected from the droppings, and suf- 
ficiently secluded to suit the hens. The droppings can be very 
easily swept from this shelf, into a vessel placed under it, without 
■defiling the floor. The droppings should be removed two or three 
times a week and stored under shelter away from the fowl house. 
The floor of the house, if of dirt, should be filled two or three inches 
<leep with dry sand, or clay, which should be dug up and removed 
once a year and replaced with fresh soil. Whether of dirt, cement 
or plank it should be occasionally sprinkled with diluted sulphuric 
acid to destroy all germs of disease which may have found a lodgment 
there. The sulphuric acid should be carefully handled to prevent 
injury to the clothing or persons of those applying it. The house- 
should be thoroughly, whitewashed twice a year to purify it, and to 
destroy insects injurious to the poultry. Crude petroleum, or, if 
this cannot be had, kerosene oil, sprinkled over the roosts and sides 
of the house, will be found beneficial in destroying the insects. 

Thorough fumigation with tobacco smoke while the fowls are 
confined in the house will prove efficacious. In order to secure the 
full benefit of this, however, the house must be made close enough 
to retain the smoke. 

Fowls are, however, far more healthy in our climate if required 
to roost in trees during the summer. Indeed, they will be more 
healthy if required to roost on trees throughout the year ; but will 
not produce so many eggs in winter as they will if kept during the 
cold months in comfortable houses. 

Nests, on which hens are expected to sit, should be made upon 
the ground rather than upon plank. If made upon the latter it 
will be well to place upon the bottom of the nests a fresh sod be- 
fore setting the hens. Hollow out the sod in the form in which 
the hen prepares it when left to her own instincts and make a nest 
of green cotton seed, preserving the same form. The green cotton 
seed are in some way offensive to mites and other insects injurious 
to fowls. Some years since an experiment was made with green 
cotton seed in nests by the side of others in which grass was 
used. While eggs in the latter were infested with mites daily for 



MANUAL ON POULTRY. 31 

many days in succession those in the former were entirely exempt 
from them. 

After nests have once been used by sitting hens they should be 
thoroughly renovated. The material of which the nests were made 
should be entirely removed, and either burned or thrown into the 
manure pile. 

In addition to the house, there should be a shed with southern 
exposure, under which the fowls may shelter themselves from cold 
winds and rain. This shed should be provided with dust-baths of 
dry earth mixed with ashes into which flower of sulphur is occa- 
sionally sprinkled. 

The droppings of both animals and birds furnish a fruitful source 
of disease, hence the importance of extreme caution in removing 
promptly all droppings from the house and frequently using disin- 
fectants about the houses. 

This subject will be further treated under its appropriate head, 
and extracts from recent scientific investigations given. 



INCUBATION, AND MANAGEMENT OF CHICKS. 

If practicable, sitting hens should have a separate apartment 
where they will not be disturbed by others seeking nests ; but this 
can seldom be arranged on the farm. The next best arrangement 
is to provide woven wire gates, or doors, for the nests occupied by 
sitting hens, to prevent intrusion from others, and at the same time 
afford ample ventilation. With this arrangement it will be neces- 
sary to remove the hen once a day to take food. No inconvenience 
will arise from this if the hens are as gentle as they should be. It 
will not be necessary to keep the door of the nest closed regularly 
unless there are other hens disposed to intrude upon the sitters. It 
is well, however, to have ready a means of protecting them when 
necessary. 

Eggs should be marked when placed under the hens, in order 
that those laid after she commences to sit may be readily distin- 
guished and promptly removed. The number of eggs to be put 
under a hen will depend upon the season of the year and the size of 
the hen. In winter, when the temperature is so low that the par- 



32 DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE — GEORGIA. 

tial exposure of an egg would prove destructive of the chick, fifteen 
eggs are enough for a large hen and thirteen for a small one. 

Later in the seasou, when the thermometer ranges from 70° at 
night to 80* or .90° at noon, nineteen or twenty -one may be set 
under the hens of the larger breeds and fifteen under those of the 
small breeds. 

The eggs should be frequently examined, and if any have been 
broken those remaining should be carefully washed in milk-warm 
water,, and. as promptly as possible, gently wiped and returned to 
the hen. If this is not done, the chicks will die in all of the eggs to 
which any considerable quantity of the contents of the broken ones 
has adhered. Whether this results from the stifling odor of the 
decaying eggs or from suffocation by closing the pores of the shells, 
is not known, but the, fact is known to every experienced poultry 
raiser, though the remedy is seldom applied. 

If hens are set upon nests with plank bottoms it will be found 
advantageous to sprinkle the eggs with tepid water daily 'during 
the last week of the incubation. During very dry spells this will 
be found to be beneficial even when the nests have dirt 'bottoms, 
unless the hen seeks her food, while off, in grass, wet with dew. 

If nothing goes apparently wrong with the hen, it is best to dis- 
turb her as little as possible during her incubation. When hatching 
commences all that is necessary is to remove the shells that have 
hatched to prevent them from covering the pipped eggs and stifling 
the chicks. It will sometimes be necessary, if the hatching is con- 
tinuecNlonger than twenty-four hours, to feed the lien to prevent 
her from leaving her nest before the hatching is completed. 

The best food for the young chicks, for the first few days, is 
hard boiled eggs, but very few will be willing to use eggs in this 
way. An excellent food for them is curds, or plain corn bread 
crumbled in buttermilk or clabber. Soft, sticky, raw dough should 
never be fed to young fowls, and is not proper food for' adults. 
Wheat bran, or shorts, mixed with corn meal and not made too 
wet, or baked into bread, will be found suitable food for growing 
chicks and adults as a morning feed. If they have a liberal range, 
two meals a day will be sufficient, giving dry dough, or bread, in 
the morning, and grain of some kind just before they go to roost. 
If fed on meal at night it is so rapidiy digested that the crop be- 
comes empty before morning, and the birds consequently suffer. 



MANUAL ON POLUTKT. 33 

The food should be varied during each week by using different 
combinations of meal, shorts, bran, etc., for the morning meal, and 
the different grains for evening. 

It is a good plan to sow plats of Egyptian wheat, Dourra corn, 
German millet, rural branching sorghum, or millo maize, sorghum 
eane, field peas and chufas, for pasturage. With such plats accessi- 
ble to the poultry no more feeding will be necessary than just 
enough to keep them gentle, and to collect them daily to be counted 
and examined. These crops will come into use in succession from 
July until mid-winter, The chufas will not be noticed by the 
poultry until all of the seed of the other plants have been con- 
sumed. After the tops of the chufas die down, a few bunches 
should be upturned to attract the attention of the chickens. When 
they once learn where to find them they will continue to scratch 
for them as long as a nut can be found. 

With these crops and small grain accessible to the fowls, very 
little feeding will be necessary, and the poultry will be more 
healthy than when they are abundantly fed at regular intervals 
without such range. 

Pure fresh water should be always accessible to the poultry in 
either iron, stone or earthenware vessels. 

If disinfectants or tonics are necessary they can be very easily 
and conveniently administered through the water. 
3 



34 



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE GEORGIA. 



FOOD VALUES OF DIFFERENT MATERIALS. 



The following 


table is copied from " Wright's Practical Poultry Keeper." 


THERE IS IN 


FLESH-FORM- 
ING FOOD. 


WARMTH-GIVING 
FOOD. 


BONE MAK- 
ING FOOD. 


HUSK 

OR 
FIBRE 


WATER 


EVERY 100 POUNDS 
OF 


Gluten, etc. 


Fat or Oil. 


Starch, etc. 


Mineral 
substances. 




Oats 


15 


6 


47 


2 


20 


10 


Oatmeal 


18 


6 


63 


2 


2 


9 


Middlings 


18 


6 


53 


5 


4 


14 


Wheat 


12 


3 


70 


2 


1 


12 


Barley- 


11' 


2 


60 


2 


14 


11 


Corn 


11 


8 


65 


1 


5 


10 


Rice 


7 


a trace 


80 


a trace 


— 


13 


Beans and Peas 


25 


2 


48 


2 


8 


15 


Milk 


4J 


3 


5 


3 

4 


— 


86| 



Commenting on this table Mr. Wright says : "To show the 
practical use of this table, it may be observed that whilst "mid- 
dlings," from its flesh-forming material, is one of the best summer 
ingredients, in winter it may be advantageous to change it for a 
portion of Indian meal. It is, however, necessary to avoid giving 
too great a proportion of maize, either as meal or corn, as the effect 
will be a useless and prejudicial fattening from the large quantity 
of oil it contains ; it is best mixed with barley or bean-meal, and is 
then a most economical and useful food. Potatoes, also, from the 
large proportion of starch contained in them, are not good un- 
mixed as a regular diet for poultry ; but mixed with bran or meal 
will be found most conducive to condition and laying. 

"In mixing soft food, there is one general rule always to be ob- 
served ; it must be mixed rather dry, so that it will break if thrown 
upon the ground. There should never be enough water to cause 
the food to glisten in the light, or to make a sticky porridgy mass, 
which clings around the beaks of the fowls and gives them infinite 
annoyance, besides often causing diarrhoea. "If the weather be 



MANUAL ON POULTRY. 



35 



dry, and the birds are fed in a hard, gravelly yard, the food is just 
as well, or better, thrown on the ground.'' 

If, however, such ground is not accessible, or if fed in a shed, a 
vessel protected by wire or slats driven around it to prevent them 
from walking over the food or scratching it out will be better. 

As before remarked, pure water is as important as good food. 
The water vessel should be so constructed that the fowls cannot 
scratch dirt into it. There are several forms of poultry fountains 
which answer well for this purpose. 

Tonics and disinfectants can be administered in the drinking 
water. On this subject Mr. Wright says : "It is well in winter to 
add to the water a few drops of a solution of sulphate of iron (green 
vitrol), just enough to give a slight mineral taste. ■ This will in 
a great measure guard against roup, and act as a bracing tonic gen- 
erally. The rusty appearance the water will assume is quite imma- 
terial. The best plan, perhaps, is to keep a large bottle of the 
-celebrated "Douglas Mixture," respecting which we can speak with 
unqualified approval, as a most valuable addition to the drink in 
cold weather of both fowls and chickens. It consists of half a 
pound of sulphate of iron and one ounce of sulphuric acid dis- 
solved in two gallons of water ; and is to be added in the propor- 
tion of a tea-spoonful to each pint of water in the fountain. Whilst 
the fowls are moulting, the above mixture, or a little sulphate of 
iron, should always be used ; it will assist them greatly through 
this, the most critical period of the whole year. 

"A little hemp-seedjshould also be given every day at this season, 
;at least to all fowls of value ; and with these aids, and a little pep- 
per on their food, with perhaps a little extra meat, or even a little 
■ale during the few weeks the process lasts, there will rarely be any 
lost. With hardy kinds and good shelter such precautions are scarcely 
necessary, but they cost little, and have their effect also on the early 
recommencement of laying. 

" In addition to their regular food it will be needful that the fowls 
have a supply of lime, in some shape or other, to form the shells of 
their eggs. Old mortar pounded is excellent ; so are oyster-shells 
well burned in the fire and pulverized ; of the latter they are very 
fond, and it is an excellent plan to keep a saucer full of it in their 
yard. ■ If this matter has been neglected, and soft shell-less eggs 



36 DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE — GEORGIA. 

have resulted, the quickest way of getting matters right again is to- 
add a little lime to the drinking water." 

Whether the fowls occupy houses or trees as roosting places, the 
droppings should be regularly collected at short intervals and kept 
under shelter until needed. Since the solid and liquid parts of the 
manure from fowls are united, it is highly ammoniated, and while it 
furnishes an admirable application to the class of plants requiring a 
liberal supply of nitrogen, it contains an excess of nitrogen for most 
of our cultivated plants if used alone. It is therefore well to mix it 
with an equal weight of superphosphate and a small quantity of kainit 
thus producing a complete manure of superior merit. If cotton 
seed are used for nests they form a valuable addition to the manure 
heap when discarded from the nests to make room for a fresh, 
supply. 



DISEASES. 



There are only a few diseases of fowls which need notice here. 

Prevention is the best policy, and this may easily be accomplished 
by using the necessary precautions as regards the use of disinfec- 
tants and insecticides, with proper attention to cleanliness and 
judicious feeding. 

If contagious diseases appear in the flock, the best policy is to kill 
the diseased birds as soon as the character of the disease is ascer- 
tained. 

The dead birds should be either burned or deeply buried at a 
distance from the run of the balance of the flock, and vigorous 
measures at once adopted to perfectly disinfect the premises, re- 
moving, if practicable, the well birds from the yard which the 
diseased birds have used, until thoroughly disinfected by the use of 
sulphuric acid. 

No one who values his poultry should allow diseases to appear 
among them. Its appearance is generally the result of criminal 
neglect in the management of the flock. It often results from the 
weakening effects of insect vermin where fowls are required to 
roost, lay and sit, in neglected houses. 

It not unfrequently arises from the foul air produced by accu- 
mulations of their droppings upon a damp floor, intensified by con. 
finement in too close and contracted quarters. 



MANUAL ON POULTRY. 



37 



Another fruitful source of disease is found in stagnant or pol- 
luted water with which the poor birds are compelled to slake their 
thirst. 

As usually watered in flat, open troughs, the fowls are frequently 
required to drink a solution of their own droppings. With such 
treatment health cannot be expected. 

Irregularity in feeding is another fruitful source of disease. Dur- 
ing the winter months when insects are scarce and the birds conse- 
quently find but little meat on their run, they are freely fed with 
bread or grain. When spring arrives and insects become abun- 
dant they get little except meat, as the feeding is too often discon- 
tinued under the impression that they procure abundant supplies 
on the run and do not need feeding. 

They thus have a bread diet in winter and one principally of 
meat (insects) in summer, and the natural result of such manage- 
ment is indigestion, disease and death. Fowls, no matter how good 
their range, should be fed twice a day — morning and evening — the 
quantity of food given depending upon the character of that acces- 
sible to them during the day. 

In winter, meat of some kind should be mingled with their bread, 
and in summer they should have bread to mix with their daily 
catch of meat (insects). 

A free use of flour of sulphur in they* nests, and dust baths, and 
an occasional dose in the food uf small chicks and stock birds will 
prove beneficial. The houses should be whitewashed inside and 
out with a mixture of lime, salt and carbolic acid, and the floor occa- 
sionally sprinkled with sulphuric acid to destroy all germs of disease 
that may have found a lodgement there. 

DISTEMPER. 

Mr. I. K. Felch in his "Breeding and Management of Poultry" 
says : "This disease all chickens are heir to, and generally are taken 
about the time they are twenty-two to twenty-six weeks old, and at 
the time they are shedding their second chicken feathers * *. 

" If carefully watcheddittle or no medicine is needed,and so light 
is the disease that it hardly deserves a place in this catalogue. Yet 
if not jealously watched it becomes the most frightful in the intro- 
duction of roup and consumption. 

"Symptoms. — A littles? ruiet mien, a disposition to remain on 



38 DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE — GEORGIA. 

the roost '®m the ^day-time, face and comb quite red, and a puff or 
fullness of the|face under the eye. The second day, a white froth 
is discerned in the corner of the eye. A decided loss of appetite- 
is also noticeable. 

"Treatment. — If noticed, and the disease taken in hand before- 
the appearance of the froth in the eye, it will usually only be 
necessary to wash the head and beak clean, and blow down through 
the nose into the throat either with the mouth, or by means of a 
rubber nipple, thus clearing the tear tube, and bathe the head and 
wash the throat with a solution of carbolic acid — one part acid to- 
ten parts water. The birds should be kept in a quiet place and al- 
lowed nothing but water. 

" The third day they will regain their appetites and all is over.. 
Many of them have this distemper so lightly as not to be noticed. 
In aggravated cases, when the eyes and face are much swollen, the 
head and throat should be thoroughly steamed by the use of a large 
sponge and hot water. The tear tube should be cleared (as before 
explained), a desert spoonful of castor oil given, and the bathing 
of the face and throat with the solution of carbolic acid continued 
at short intervals. This distemper may be called a cold, or the 
incipient stages of the roup. We will not quarrel about names, 
but simply say that in our opinion it is no more roup than a cold is 
measles. There is no offensive smell to the breath as in roup, but, 
if neglected, it will excite roup. We have not the slightest doubt 
of this ; in fact know it to be the case, and the breeder has the- 
choice of adopting the adage, 'a stitch in time saves nine,' and at- 
tending to this mild, easily managed distemper, or to neglect it and 
have that scourge of a poultry house, 'the roup,' to contend with.'*" 
In regard to 

ROUP 

The same author says : "When roup appears, our advice is to- 
kill the affected one and turn our attention at once to the flock, 
giving sulphur in the ratio of a table-spoonful to fifteen fowls every 
other day for a week, feeding tincture of iron, eight drops to a hen 
every day in their soft food, which will pay to be boiled rice, untiL 
treatment is over. With this, be sure that the ventilation is com- 
plete and free from direct draughts upon the fowls. For the ben- 
efit of those who wish to cure the disease, we give the following; 
symptoms and our method of treatment : 



MANUAL ON POULTRY. 39 

"Symptoms. — Swelling of the head, watery discharge from the 
eyes and nostrils, which are very foetid and offensive to the smell, 
following which, these discharges become acrid and result in a 
congealed yellow coating to the mouth and tongue, called canker 
— which we term a poisonous fungus growth in the blood. 

"Treatment. — Wash and steam the head and throat with hot water 
in which a dash of carbolic acid is added. Clear the nasal passage 
to the throat by an injection of carbolic water, one part of carbolic 
acid to ten parts of water. Gargle the throat and tongue with a 
solution of potash, but do not peel the canker off, if to do so causes 
any bleeding, for that would only aggravate the disease. Give a 
dessert-spoonful of castor oil, and each morning give nearly a gill 
of milk in which three or four grains of hyposulphite of soda has 
been dissolved. At evening, after the washing and steaming, the 
cleansing of the nasal passage, and the gargling, give a gill of milk 
with eight drops of tincture of iron. 

"The milk can be easily administered by taking the bird by the 
under beak and drawing the neck upward till straight, when the 
milk poured from a tea-pot will run into the crop without the ef- 
fort of swallowing. 

"At the end of about four or five days the effect of the hyposuL 
phite of soda in the blood, and the solution of carbolic acid as a 
wash, may be seen in the sloughing off of the cankerous substance 
from the tongue and mouth, when the fowl will commence to 
mend. The treatment at this stage should be nourishing food, with 
occasional doses of sulphur, and the fowls will regain their health 
and sprightliness. Six-sevenths of the cases of roup are curable? 
but its extreme contagion makes the cure a questionable policy;, 
and it should never be undertaken unless the affected fowl be at 
once removed from the flock and fowl-house." 

Gapes is common among chicks from four to six weeks 
old when supplied with foul water, especially if poorly 
fed during wet spells. Mr. Wright says : "The disease consists — at 
least so far as actual symptoms extend — in a number of small worms 
which infest the windpipe, and cause the poor chicken to gasp for 
breath. If taken early, it will be sufficient to give every day a mor- 
sel of camphor the size of a grain of wheat, and to put camphor in 
the drinking water, or a little turpentine may be given daily in 
meal, taking care, of course, that the deficiencies in diet and shel- 



40 DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE — GEORGIA. 

ter be amended. In fully developed cases the worms must be re- 
moved by introducing a loop of horsehair into the trachea, or wind. 
pipe, and turning it round during withdrawal, the operation to be 
repeated several times till all the worms appear to be extracted. A 
feather, stripped almost up to the top, may be used instead of the 
horsehair.'' 

CHOLERA 

has been the especial scourge of the poultry yards of the South, 
and until recently has baffled the skill of all investigators. Dr. D. 
E. Salmon, of the Veterinary Division of the United States Depart- 
ment of Agriculture, has for several years been pursuing a sys- 
tematic, scientific investigation of this disease with very instructive 
results. He has succeeded in cultivating the virus containing the 
germs of the bacteria, which cause the disease, and by diluting it 
in different degrees has been able by inoculation to produce the 
disease at will in virulent or mild form according to the strength 
of the virus used. 

The theory on which he proceeds is, that by successive cultiva- 
tions he will so far weaken the virus as to be able to produce by 
inoculation effects similar to those resulting from vaccination of hu- 
man beings. 

All medical treatment failed even in his skillful hands. He found 
that the germs of the bacteria, voided in the excrement of diseased 
fowls, retained vitality and was capable of producing the disease in 
fowls fed upon the flesh of dead birds that had been frozen. He 
found also that the virus, after six successive cultivations in a flask 
prepared for the purpose, had lost but little, if any, of its virulence. 

His experiments showed that burial of the fowls, that had died 
with cholera, for six months destroyed the germs of the bacteria. 
He expresses the opinion that putrefaction destroys the germs, but 
when protected from this, as in the case of frozen flesh, vitality is 
retained. Under the head of 

THE EFFICIENCY OF DILUTED SULPHURIC ACID AS A DISINFECTANT. 

Dr. Salmon says : 

"The solution of commercial sulphuric acid of the strength of 
one part to two hundred of water, which I have heretofore recom- 
mended as a cheap and most efficient disinfectant in this disease, has 
been in continual use during these experiments. I have shown in 



MANUAL ON POULTRY. 41 

ray former report how dangerous it is to place susceptible fowls in 
coops that have been occupied with those sick with cholera when 
no disinfection is practiced. During these experiments it has been 
necessary to use the same coop over and over again, and frequently 
it was impossible to place them upon fresh ground, and in some 
cases even the accumulations of excrement were not removed ; at 
all times reliance was placed upon this disinfectant, and the water- 
ing troughs, coops and ground thoroughly saturated with it. In 
no single instance out of more than a hundred have the most sus- 
ceptible fowls contracted the disease from such disinfected grounds or 
coops. The value of this agent is, then, fully confirmed by a large 
number of cases. It deserves even more credit for efficiency than 
I have before given it, since considerable accumulations of virulent 
manure have been rendered perfectly harmless after a thorough satu- 
ration with it. As a disinfectant, therefore, it cannot be too highly 
recommended, and it should be largely used by all who suffer from 
the ravages of this plague.'' 

In order, therefore, to prevent this so-far incurable disease, all breed- 
ers of poultry should use this simple, cheap and efficient disinfectant 
at intervals of not more than a month. 

BUMBLE FOOT OK CLUB FOOT. 

This is generally caused by heavy fowls flying down from, too high 
roosts. It resembles what is known as "stone bruise" in the human 
foot. On this subject Mr. Felch remarks : "The flesh of the foot 
being so tough, the puss cannot escape ; therefore, if not attended 
to it must congeal and an ungainly, troublesome foot be the result." 
"When discovered before the puss congeals, lance the swelling at the 
rear of the foot, and the pressure upon it in walking will press 
the puss out and there will be a much smaller callous than if allowed 
to settle down of its own accord. We have treated cases by making 
an incision in frpnt and rear of the foot, and those on the shank by 
opening at top and bottom, and by the use of a syringe and a solu- 
tion of carbolic acid, of one part of acid to ten parts of water, 
cleanse them thoroughly when they all heal up." This is seldom 
attended to in time to prevent evil consequences. 

THE RED SPIDER LOUSE MITE. 

Mr. Felch says : 

"This pest is the scourge of the poultry-house, and the source of 



42 DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE — GEORGIA. 

more trouble and annoyance than any other hindrance to poultry- 
keeping. The quarters often become literally alive with them be- 
fore the breeder is aware of their presence. They sap the life- 
blood from the fowls and reduce to skeletons and debilitate a flock to 
such an extent as to make the season unprofitable. Working only 
in the night, they escape notice and have things their own way. 

"Fowls that are sitting upon eggs are generally the greatest suffer- 
ers, for these lice instinctively seek out such hens as are about to 
hatch their brood, and many a hen sacrifices her life to her mother- 
hood. 

"In this case the hen becomes sallow in the face, and comb actu- 
ally bloodless, the lice having consumed the blood to such an extent 
as to cause death, and many fowls, whose deaths have been attributed 
to disease, have been murdered by these pests. 

"The quarters should be constantly watched, and all the cracks 
and knots on or about the roost saturated with coal tar and kerosene 
oil or carbolic acid. The houses must be kept free from them, for 
the exhaustive influence of these marauders not only entails the 
loss of blood to the fowls, but by reducing their strength renders 
the flock more liable to the diseases we have described. 

"It is therefore the best and surest step, toward warding off dis- 
ease, to have an absolutely clean poultry-house. If from one to 
three pounds of sulphur be mixed with the loamy sand and gravel 
covering the floor, in which the fowls may dust themselves, and ker- 
osene oil used as described, the fowls occasionally dusted while on 
their roosts with a dredging box filled with sulphur and Persian in- 
sect powder, or carbolic powder, their quarters will soon be cleansed. 
Cleanliness, coupled with judicious feeding, is what makes fowls 
profitable. So great a nervous irritant are these species of vermin,. 
that in two flocks, equally well fed, the flock which occupies quar- 
ters infected with lice will not lay at all, while those free from this 
annoyance will lay nearly every day. This fact proves them to a be 
an expensive enemy to the breeder. We do not go so far as some 
writers, and say that all disease is caused by lice, but will say that 
many a fowl would not have suffered disease were it not for this 
barn or spider-louse. Breeders, look for them at all times. Do 
not wait for them to make themselves known and force their ac- 
quaintance upon you." 



MANUAL ON POULTRY. 4& 

THE PIP. 

Writers generally ridicule the idea of classing pip as a disease. 

Mr. Wright says : "Pip is no disease and demands no treatment, 
being only analogous to "a foul tongue" in human beings. Cure 
the roup, or bad digestion, or whatever else may be the real evil,, 
and the thickening of the tongue will disappear too." 

Whether it be classed as a disease or not, it has its well-defined 
symptoms, and whatever be the cause the remedy is simple and 
effectual. 

The tongue becomes coated over with a horny substance which 
so stiffens that organ as to prevent its use in taking food. If not 
attended to promptly the fowl gradually declines until starvation 
terminates its existence. 

Remove the coating from the tongue and the bird at once returns 
to its food and recovery is rapid. Few practical poultry-raisers- 
have not had experience with the removal of this horny substance 
from the tongues with perfectly satisfactory results, the bird re- 
turning promptly to its food and rapidly regaining health and 
strength after the removal of the "pip." 

Those who wish to follow Dr. Salmon through the details of his 
investigation of fowl cholera will find his reports in the U. S. De- 
partment of Agriculture Reports for 1880 and 1881-2. 

As before remarked, the safest policy, in nearly every instance/is 
to kill the diseased birds rather than attempt treating them, devot- 
ing at the same time the utmost energy to the protection of the 
remainder of the flock by the use of disinfectants and by a thor- 
ough renovation of their quarters. 

If proper attention is given to cleanliness, feeding and the use 
of disinfectants, there need be no disease among fowls, and there; 
should be none. 



OTHER POULTRY. 



TURKEYS. 



It is agreed on all sides that the turkey is a native of the West 
ern Continent, some maintaining that the wild and domesticated 
birds have a common origin from the wild variety now in our for- 
ests, the variations having been caused by the influences of domes- 
tication, while others contend that there were three original types 
of the wild turkeys, viz : the Mexican, Honduras and the Bronze 
turkey still found in the United States. 

Be this as it may, it is of little importance to the practical breeder. 
Naturalists have given to the three varieties the following 
names, viz : Meleagris Ocellata, to those from Central America ; M. 
Americana, to the wild American species such as are found in our 
forests, and M. Mexicana, to the Mexican species. 

If it is true that all of the varieties of chickens have been pro- 
duced from a single original, the Gallus Bankiva, as claimed by Mr. 
Darwin, it is not difficult to believe that all of our domestic breeds 
of turkeys have a common origin. 

The principal varieties which claim distinctive characteristics 
are the Bronze, the Cambridge, the White Holland and the Nor- 
folk. 

The Bronze resembles very closely in plumage the M Americana 
or common wild turkey of our forests, and seems to have been the 
result of a cross of the wild gobbler upon the domestic hen. They 
are very handsome and hardy and attain to a greater size than the 
other varieties, the gobblers weighing as much as forty pounds. 

They are more disposed to range than the other breeds, and hence 
cannot be kept except where abundant range is afforded on the 
premises of the owner. The other breeds are more domestic but 
less hardy and of smaller size. The variegated colors of many tur- 
keys result from crosses of the different breeds. 

They have not been bred with the same care that chickens have 
except, perhaps, the Bronze variety, which has received much at- 
tention within the last few years. 



MANUAL ON POULTRY. 



u 



It is rarely profitable to breed turkeys on a small scale or on 
small runs, but on farms of considerable size where small grain is 
grown, and where the turkeys have the run of the stubble after the 
grain has been harvested, they can be reared at small cost and with 
but little trouble. 



<^MMMm 




'"&- 





BRONZE GORBLEK. 

The hens commence to lay in early spring and lay from twelve 
to eighteen eggs each.' If allowed their liberty they usually seek 
their nests in some quiet, secluded spot where they are least likely 
to be disturbed by the gobbler. Some allow them to select their 
own neste for both laying and sitting , others move them to houses 
when they show broody propensities, and confine them upon a sit- 
ting of eggs, removing them daily for the purpose of taking food, 



46 DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE GEORGIA. 

while others still confine the hens daily until they have laid, thus 
xequiring them to lay in the house where they are to sit. 

The hens are very close sitters and, if not disturbed, usually 
hatch well under any of the three plans. 

The chicks are apparently stupid when first hatched, and inex- 
perienced breeders become impatient of their delay in taking food. 
A few hen eggs should be put under each turkey hen six or seven 
•days after she commences to sit upon her own eggs. The chickens 
will soon teach the young turkeys, which are quite imitative, to 
eat if such teaching is necessary. 

The young turkeys are very tender and delicate when first 
hatched, and require very careful housing and feeding for several 
weeks. If many hens are kept a number of them should be set at 
the same time, so that the young turkeys hatched by the whole 
number may be given to a few hens, and the remainder set at lib- 
erty to lay another sitting of eggs. 

If only a few hens are kept, and it is desired to secure the maxi- 
mum number of eggs from them, they need not be allowed to sit at 
all, but the eggs hatched under chicken hens. 

A larger per cent of the young turkeys will generally be raised in 
this way than by the turkeys themselves, and they will have, when 
grown, less propensity for rambling. 

Again, under this system the turkey hens will lay twice as many 
-eggs as when allowed to sit. Young turkeys are so sensitive to cold 
and dampness that the hen carrying them should be inclosed for 
some weeks in a well sheltered pen in which there is a plank floor. 
The young ones may be allowed the liberty of a small run in dry, 
pleasant weather, but must be scrupulously protected from rain and 
not allowed to run in grass which is wet with dew or rain. 

The floor of the pen must be kept clean and drv, and pure, fresh 
water kept constantly within their reach. The vessel in which 
water is given them must be so shallow as to avoid all risk of 
drowning the young. 

For some weeks after hatching the young turkeys are very sub. 
ject to diarrhoea and hence the utmost care must be exercised in 
feeding them. Hard boiled eggs, or curd, pressed every day, 
will prove the safest food for the first two weeks, after which bread 
soaked in just enough milk to soften it, may be used to advantage. 
The tender tops of onions, garden fennel, purslane or dandelion 
chopped fine and mixed with the other food, will be found beneficial 
contributing materially to the health of the chicks. 



MANUAL ON POULTRY. 47 

On pleasant, bright days the hen may be allowed to take out the 
brood on the run, but must be carefully watched to prevent being 
caught in rain. 

The gobbler will sometimes maliciously destroy the young tur- 
keys, and hence prudence demands his confinement when the hens 
come off with their young. He will destroy many by merely 
trampling upon them but will often peck them until all of the prin- 
cipal bones in them are broken. If there are hens still laying with 
whom he consorts, there is less risk of his injuring the young tur- 
keys, but it will be prudent to prevent any risk of his giving vent 
to his malicious propensities. 

The wild turkey hen instinctively conceals her nest and her 
young from the gobbler. When the young turkeys acquire suffi- 
cient strength and activity to keep out of the way, the gobbler may 
be allowed his liberty, even in company with the mother birds and 
their young, but even then he will be a disturbing element in the 
flock. The young turkeys do not become hardy until the red be- 
gins to appear upon their heads. After they reach that stage they 
are quite hardy, and will take care of themselves if allowed a lib- 
eral range. 

Turkeys are not profitable unless they glean a large share of their 
food from the fields where what they gather would otherwise be 
wasted. They are ravenous eaters and very destructive of some 
kinds of vegetation. 



THE GUINEA FOWL. 

The guinea fowl is noted for its great egg-producing qualities. 
The hens commence laying in May and continue through August. 
Generally a number of them will lay in the same nest; indeed so 
great is this tendency that it is difficult to induce enough of them to 
have nests to themselves to secure sitters to keep up the stock. In 
view of this difficulty therefore it is well to set the early laid eggs 
under chicken hens. 

The guineas seldom sits until too late in the season to rear a good 
brood, but if they can be induced to sit they generally hatch well 
and are remarkably successful in rearing their brood. 

Another advantage in having chicken hens raise the young gui- 
neas is that they grow up more gentle and manageable than when 
reared by the guinea hens. Guineas have a natural disposition to 
roam and are disposed to seek their nests in secluded spots at a dis- 



48 DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE GEORGIA. 

tance from the farm-house. They will pair off if the number of 
males equals that of the females, but if the number of the latter is in 
excess of that of the former, one male will consort with more than 
one female. In this case, however, the tendency to use the same 
nest will be increased. 

Guineas are very cross toother fowls, and" by their nervous, sud- 
den mode of attack so surprise less active fowls that they gain the 
mastery over those much larger than themselves. We have no do- 
mestic fowl equal in table qualities to half-grown guineas. 

In quality and flavor of the flesh they approach those of the pheas- 
ant. No farm yard is complete without guineas. They furnish an 
abundant supply of eggs during the warm summer months when 
the chicken hens, except the Leghorns, fail. 

In addition to the other good qualities of the guineas they sound a 
note of alarm at any unusual occurrence during the night. 



THE PEAFOWL. 



This is a highly ornamental bird and is generally grown with 
special reference to this quality. They are, therefore, suited only 
to spacious grounds, and lawns, in which they are peculiarly appro- 
priate. 

They are out of place in a general poultry yard on account of 
their ill nature, the mail taking special pleasure in annoying a hen 
with a brood and killing the chicks. One indulging, therefore, in 
the luxury of the peafowl as an ornamental bird must weigh well 
its disposition to destroy the more useful part of the flock. 

It requires three years in which to reach maturity. The hen lays 
the second year, seeking a secluded, retired spot for her nest. She 
lays from five to nine eggs about the size of those of the turkey hen. 

The time of incubation is from twenty-eight to thirty days. The 
chicks are almost as tender as young turkeys but, on account of the 
shyness of the old birds must be left to the care of the parent, who 
cares for them for six months. 



WATER FOWL. 

Under this head only ducks and geese will be treated as the only 
birds of practical utility. Swans are merely ornamental and require 
more water for successful culture than is at the command of most 
breeders. 

While ducks and geese may be successfully grown under domesti- 



MANUAL ON POULTKY. 



49 



cation, without access to more water than an ordinary drinking 
trough will afford, still in their natural state they live upon th 
water, and under domestication will seek water if in reach. 

The five principal varieties of thoroughbred ducks are the Pekin, 
Aylesbury, Rouen, Cayuga and Muscovy, each of which has its advo- 
cates among breeders. 




PEKIN DUCKS. 



Of these the Pekin is the largest and most showy, is a voracious 
feeder and when well fattened makes a fine table fowl. 

The voraciousness of these birds is an objection to them unless 
they are grown on the farm where there is much waste from the 
grain fed to stock. 

The Pekin is the largest variety of ducks, plumage pure white, 
beak and legs bright yellow. The profit in breeding them depends 
upon the cost of the food furnished them. If it must be purchased 
there will be little if any profit in breeding them. 

THE AYLESBURY 

Is a favorite variety with many breeders and is a very valuable 
bird. They too are voracious feeders, but consume so much that 
chickens will not, that they can be largely supported on waste. 



50 DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE GEORGIA. 

Mr. Fowler, good authority on such subjects, says of the Ayles- 
bury : 

"My idea of a perfect Aylesbury drake and duck is, that in plu- 
mage they 'should be of the finest snow white all over. The head 
should be full, and the bill well set on to the skull, so that the beak 
should seem to be almost in a line from the top of the head to the 
tip. The bill should belong, and when viewed from the front appear 
much like a woodcock's ; it should be., in prize birds, of a delicate 
flesh color, without spot or blemish, and with a slight fleshy excres- 
cence where the feathers commence. If it occasionally has a very 
slight creamy tint it would not disqualify, but any approach to dark 
buff or yellow is fatal to the pen ; eye full, bright and quite black. 
The legs should be strong, with the claws well webbed, and in color 
of a rich dark yellow or orange. Body rather long, but broad across 
the shoulders, and the neck rather long and slender. The drake 
should have one and sometimes has two sharp curls in his tail. The 
weight of each bird in a show-pen ought to be about nine pounds, 
but this is not very often attained." 

These ducks commence to lay in winter and if not allowed 
to sit themselves they will lay a large number of good sized 
eggs during the season. A large number of the ducklings maybe 
put with a single hen in a close warm pen where they are fed lib- 
erally upon meal mixed with boiled meat chopped fine. They will 
grow very rapidly under this treatment and when two months old 
be ready for market. They should be kept supplied with fresh, clear 
water in a shallow pan, but. not allowed to go to branches or ponds 
until four to six weeks old, lest they be destroyed by turtles or be- 
come chilled and die from cramp. 

THE ROUEN DUCKS 

are treated as the Aylesbury but do not commence to lay so early in 
the season. They usually commence in February or March and, if 
not allowed to sit, will lay a large number of eggs. In color they 
should be exactly like the wild Mallard from which they seen! to 
have originated. The Rouen is more hardy than the Aylesbury or 
the Pekin but not so large as either, though equal to them in table 
qualities. 



MANUAL ON POULTRY, 



51 



THE BLACK GAYUGA 



Has black plumage, approaching brown, with a white collar. It is 
not quite so large as the Aylesbury or Rouen but of superior flavor, 













ROUEN DUCKS. 



and with greater aptitude to fatten than either of the above men- 
tioned breeds. It originated on Cayuga lake, in New York. It is 
hardy and a good layer— weight six to eight pounds. 



52 DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE GEORGIA. 

THE M-USCOVY, 

Or Musk Duck, so called from the decided odor of musk emitted by 
the drake, is a very common and hardy breed, which has not been 
bred to any uniform color, being either white or black, or a ming- 
ling of these in every conceivable manner. There is more than the 
ordinary difference between the size of the drake and the duck. 
Their table qualities are inferior to those of the breeds already men- 
tioned, though when well fattened they are of fair quality. The 
drake is exceedingly quarrelsome and hence is a disagreeable com- 
panion in the poultry yard. 

This seems to be quite a distinct breed as its cross upon others is 
generally unfertile. The duck lays a large egg but a much smaller 
number than either the Aylesbury, Rouen or the Black Cayuga. 

THE COMMON DUCK. 

seems to be a degenerate descendant of the Rouen as its plumage 
resembles that of the latter very closely. They are prolific and., 
hardy but small, and are rather disagreeable additions to the poul- 
try yard on account of the perpetual "quack" "quack" of the female. 
They are good layers and when well fattened possess excellent table 
qualities. 

All varieties of ducks are careless as to the deposit of their eggs, 
dropping them indiscriminately on their run or in the water, and 
hence it is well to keep them in the house until nine o'clock each 
morning during the laying season. They invariably lay early In 
the morning and hence, by this means all of their eggs will gener- 
ally be secured. 



DUCKS AND CARP PONDS. 

As carp culture is now becoming so common a few suggestions on 
the above subject will be appropriate here Whether the ducks 
seek the eggs of the carp while they remain attached to the grass on 
the margin of the pond, is not fully determined, but there is 
no question of the fact that in seeking their food in the shallow 
water, as they are fond of doing, the ducks incidentally destroy a 
great many eggs. They should therefore be carefully excluded from 
the ponds during the spawning season of the carp, which extends 
from the first of April to August. After that time the ducks may 
frequent the ponds to the advantage of both the fish and the ducks 
until the return of the spawning season. 



MANUAL ON POULTRY. 



53 



The tadpole of the bull-frog is very destructive of the eggs of the 
carp, and as they are at their most destructive stage during the early 
part of the spawning season, they should if possible be destroyed 
Ducks are exceedingly fond of them and are very successful in 
destroying them, while they do not disturb the young fish. 

In order to test this, a pond which contained a large number of 
small carp was drawn down to a depth not exceeding two feet at the 
deepest part and ducks given free access to it. They were watched 
for two days, during which time they destroyed large numbers of the 
tadpoles but were never seen to catch a fish. 

Again, a large Muscovy drake was seen to swim repeatedly over 
a small pond eight by twenty feet in area, containing perfectly clear 
water not exceeding one foot in depth. In this pond were fifty six 
small fish. The drake observed the fish as he passed over them but 
made no effort to catch them. The conclusion, therefore, from obser- 
vations thus far made, is that ducks may with advantage to both 
fish and ducks have free access to the carp ponds from August to 
March inclusive. 



GEESE, 

While not generally prolific, can be more cheaply raised than any 
other kind of our domestic fowls if they are supplied with abundant 
green pastures. The goslings need feeding"only a few weeks, when 
soaked bread or boiled potatoes mixed with meal may be given them 
while running on grass with the mother goose. After two weeks 
they may be fed on grain placed in a box containing a little water. 
If however they have access to tender grass they will thrive well 
without other food, provided they have dry shelter in cool nights. 
Their growth is very rapid even on grass, without other food. 

The principal breeds are the Chinese or Hong Kong, as they are 
sometimes called, from their supposed origin, though writers on the 
subject assert that there is no such domesticated breed in the vicin- 
ity of Hong Kong. 

Mr. C. R. Belcher, of East Randolph, Mass., gives in Miner's Do- 
mestic Poultry, the following description of his China geese: l 'The 
bill is black, with a black or dark-colored protuberance surmount- 
ing the base of the upper mandible A feathered wattle hangs un- 
der the throat ; a dark brown stripe proceeds from the back of the 
head down the neck, until it reaches the upper part of the body 



54 



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE — GEORGIA. 



between the wings ; the fronts of the neck and the breast are yellow- 
ish grey; the abdomen is white ; the back, .and all the upper parts 
of the body are of a dark, greyish color, and the legs dark, with 
black feet. 

At two years of age, or when mature, they weigh twenty or 
twenty-five pounds. They are more prolific than any other variety, 
laying from early spring until late in the summer. . It is claimed 
that they will hatch three broods in a year. 






TOULOUSE GEESE. 



There is also a white variety of the Chinese geese which possess 
the general characteristics and qualities of the dark bree'd, the prin- 
cipal difference being found in the. fact that these have pure white 
plumage. The other principal varieties are the Bremen, African 
or Guinea, Indian Mountain, Poland and Common. Any of which 
may be made profitable under proper management and surround- 
ings, but no one should attempt to breed geese unless provided with 
pasturage for them in an enclosure separate from that occupied by 
other domestic poultry. 



MANUAL ON POULTRY. 55 

ARTIFICIAL INCUBATION. 

This subject has attracted a great deal of attention for the last 
ten years. The incubators and artificial mothers have been so far 
improved that both are now an assured success under intelligent 
manipulation. There are several patents, which have given very 
general satisfaction. 

The heat is applied by an ordinary lamp, by means of which a 
chamber in which the eggs are placed on drawers, is heated to 102° 
or 103° F., and so constructed with valves as to regulate the tempera- 
ture within a limit of two or three degrees above or below 102° F. 

Some use dry air chambers, while others transmit the heat 
through water tanks. All of the more modern machines apply the 
heat from above the eggs, and supply the necessary conditions of 
moisture by an evaporating pan placed beneath the egg tray. They 
have evtm succeeded in arranging an apparatus by means of which 
the eggs are turned in imitation of the practice of the hen at such 
intervals as experience has shown to be necessary. 

Turning them four times in cwenty-four hours, or every six hours, 
has been found to give most satisfactory results. Those who have 
tried them have found no difficulty in hatching a larger per cent, of 
the eggs than by setting them in the natural way under hens. It 
is not necessary, as has been generally supposed, to place the full 
number of eggs in the machine at one time, but they may be added 
each week as the eggs are laid. No attempt will be made at a de- 
scription in detail of either the incubators or the artificial mothers, 
the object of this notice being simply to invite attention to the 
means of artificial propagation and rearing of poultry, in order that 
those who desire to experiment with them may pursue the inquiry 
further. Information in regard to che'different styles of machines, 
their comparative merits, etc., can be easily obtained by correspond- 
ence with the' manufacturers. 

The machines hatch successfully the eggs of every species of 
domestic fowl. 

No one should embark in artificial hatching without ample prepa- 
ration for rearing the young poultry. Warm quarters must be pro- 
vided for those hatched in cool weather, and provision made for 
supplying them regularly with meat and vegetable food. In a 
word, natural conditions must be imitated as nearly as possible.. 

The principal advantage derived from the use of the incubators 
and artificial mothers is in securing a better supply of early broilers 
than can be obtained by the natural process. 



,LS,? flRY 0F CONGRESS 



002 866 918 5 




PEKIN DUCKS. 



